novel-bin Chapter 72 Dinner was a mutton pie with chili peppers.
Chapter 72 Dinner was a mutton pie with chili peppers.
"Here are 10 gold pounds. Please take them and spend them. As for the glove-making business, do it when you're not tired. Try not to affect your health."
Upon entering the restaurant, Zag took out the gold pounds he had prepared beforehand and placed them on the table.
Mrs. Marsh looked up in surprise: "You got paid today?"
Zag replied, "No, no, this is a commission I received for helping a friend sell a batch of magical materials to Ms. Rowan. It's quite a bit, more than my weekly salary. However, it's not a continuous income; I might only earn it once a month, but it's still substantial, so you don't need to be too frugal."
"Save it for yourself. You're still young, there are many things you need to spend money on. What's the point of giving it to me? Your father met me when he was your age, but you don't even have someone you like. Sigh, what are we going to do..."
As Mrs. Marsh spoke, the conversation veered towards urging people to get married.
It seems that, in any world, elders are always particularly concerned about the marriage of their younger generation.
Zag, somewhat embarrassed, tried to change the subject: "I've already kept some for myself; this is for household expenses and your allowance. I'm earning quite a bit now, I just... I just don't want you to be too frugal... Life will get better and better, won't it?"
These words successfully stirred up Mrs. Marsh's emotions. Her eyes reddened, she put down the small bread in her hand, and then gave Zag a warm hug, saying in a thick nasal voice, "You don't have to work too hard. Mom will always love you, no matter... no matter what kind of person you become, whether you become a Sentinel or an Alchemy Apprentice."
"Thank you, thank you..."
Zag is not very good at responding to such feelings.
Or rather, as a Chinese person, he is used to being relatively reserved when it comes to any emotion, and he was taught from a young age to be responsible and have a sense of duty, but he was never taught how to express his feelings.
He awkwardly mimicked Mrs. Marsh's manner, wrapping his arm around her and whispering comforting words: "It's alright. Look, we now live in East End Harbor, you have a garden, and we have Snowball and Coalball. Things will only get better. Maybe in the future we'll even live in the most prosperous Hollandry and have an even better life."
Mrs. Marsh sniffed, released Zag, took a few steps back, looked Zag up and down, her eyes full of pride: "Yes, yes, I never doubt that. You are my and Marsh's son, our pride."
Helford noticed Zag's embarrassment, slowly got up, and walked over to Mrs. Marsh. He put his two front paws on her skirt and whimpered twice to attract her attention and help Zag out of the predicament.
Mrs. Marsh, as expected, showed concern for Herford, reaching out to ruffle his fluffy head and saying, "Oh, little one, are you hungry too? Don't worry, don't worry, I'll get you both something to eat right away."
Helford responded with another sob, and Mrs. Marsh picked up the creamy fishbread she had just placed on the table, cut it in half, put one half back on the dessert tray, and broke the other half into several pieces, feeding them to Helford one by one.
Snowball, on the other hand, chose to rely on itself, nimbly jumping onto the dining table to fight the other half of the creamy fishbread on the dessert tray.
While feeding Herford, Mrs. Marsh pointed to the manuscript in Zag's arms and asked, "Where did you get so many books?"
Zag explained, "I bought these alchemy manuscripts from the market. Aren't I learning alchemy from Ms. Rowan? I might as well buy some of these things to learn more. Maybe I can master more skills in the future."
Mrs. Marsh nodded happily: "That's right, such an opportunity is rare. Even in church schools, you can't learn alchemy. Mrs. Rowan is willing to teach you; she is truly a kind and benevolent lady."
Zag said, "Yes, and since we've had a business partnership, she's been very helpful in giving me guidance. I'm even thinking that maybe I could introduce Lily to her later. Mr. Matthew doesn't accept many of Lily's things; she can only sell them to individual investors, which is troublesome and the earnings are unstable. It would be better to cooperate directly with Ms. Rowan... and it would also bring more income to David's family."
In particular, it would also repay David for giving him such a valuable set of steel plate armor. Although it was just a small amount of feedback, it would at least prove that he was grateful to David and the others.
"Yes, they're really kind people. They even gave you that set of plate armor! With that set, you could easily volunteer as a guard for those minor lords!" Mrs. Marsh agreed wholeheartedly. She was also very grateful to David Anvil's family and instructed them, "Invite David's two children over for dinner this weekend. Although the church school provides room and board, it's certainly not as comfortable as home. Make them something nice to eat—they're still growing, they need to eat well."
Zag replied, "I will."
"Are you hungry too? I made mutton pies today. A merchant from the south taught me how to make them years ago. I heard he came from Wusutu, which is even more remote than Dragon Blood Forest... It has your favorite dragon pepper, as well as mutton and pepper, and I also added mashed potatoes. It has a rich and creamy flavor. I think you'll like it!"
When cooking was mentioned, Mrs. Marsh became very talkative: "I heard that this kind of pie is a staple food that Southerners carry when they travel long distances in the desert. The authentic version is sprinkled with a spice called 'sesame,' but that is a specialty of the South and not available in the Eastern Port."
Zag readily agreed with Mrs. Marsh's comment: "No wonder it smelled so good! It's lamb pies. They sound delicious; I'm getting a craving for meat!"
Mrs. Marsh was even happier. She turned around and took a few pies from the earthenware pot that had been hanging above the fire to keep them warm, put them on a plate, and then brought them to the table.
The pie was about the size of a palm, thick, and generously filled with ingredients. Even through the dough, you could smell the rich aroma of mutton.
Snowball wasn't interested in the lamb and was still locked in a long battle with the creamy cornbread, while Herford was drooling and his eyes were practically glued to the meat patties on the plate.
"Coal lump, shut your drool."
Although Zag wasn't a germaphobe, he couldn't stand Herford drooling all the time. He said this with disdain as he tried to take a mutton pie from the plate, break it in half, and give half to Herford.
But the meat pie was too hot. He only touched it once before hissing and pulling his hand back.
Then, his gaze toward Mrs. Marsh was filled with admiration—
I really don't know how she managed to take those meat patties out of the earthenware basin with her bare hands!
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【Dragon Pepper Lamb Pie】: A traditional dish from Usutu-Balgosu, the filling is made with lamb, dragon pepper and mashed potatoes. The Norse people also like to add black pepper, but authentic dragon pepper lamb pie is only sprinkled with sesame seeds on the dough and does not contain black pepper.